LANSING, Michigan -- A judge has ruled that the state violated the Open Meetings Act in appointing emergency manager Michael Brown.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina invalidated Brown's appointment and also reinstated the authority of Flint Mayor Dayne Walling and the Flint City Council at a hearing regarding a lawsuit from a city union representative.

The order also invalidated all the orders and actions Brown has taken since he was appointed Dec. 1, according to attorney Robert Fetter, who represented Sam Muma of AFSCME Local 1600, who filed the suit.

Muma claimed the state violated the law when appointing Brown because the financial review team that
recommended the state takeover of Flint didn't meet in public.

The case is similar to one recently heard by Ingham Circuit Judge William E. Collette, who ruled that the appointment of the Highland Park Schools emergency manager was not appropriate because the review team did not follow the Open Meetings Act.
After that case, the state reconvened the review team in public and the governor reappointed the emergency manager following the public proceedings.

Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Brown to take over Flint on Dec. 1.

The lawsuit names Brown as well as Snyder, state Treasurer Andy Dillon and the Flint
financial review team that recommended an emergency manager be appointed
in Flint.

Michigan AFSCME workers are also part of an effort to overturn the
emergency manager law, formally known as Public Act 4, which was signed
into law one year ago Friday.

A statewide coalition, Stand Up 4
Democracy, submitted more than 200,000 petition signatures in an attempt
to put a referendum of the law before voters.